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They have wrestled with grief, anxiety at starting a new life and survivors’ guilt – and now Ukrainian exiles must balance feelings of shock and betrayal with an “existential” defiance that their homeland must keep fighting for a just peace.
“Ukrainians do not have the luxury of falling into despair,” Olga Onuch said, when asked about the mood of expats watching the future of their war-torn country being decided from afar.
Donald Trump’s sidelining of Ukraine – and his claim the invaded country “never should have started it” – has stunned Ukrainians living overseas.
Onuch, a professor of Ukrainian politics at the University of Manchester, the first in the Anglosphere, believes any attempt to impose an unjust and “unconstitutional” settlement will be fiercely resisted in Ukraine – with the support of members of the diaspora.
“It’s an existential question of the survival of their homeland. This is not a simple thing that tomorrow someone agrees and then it’s done,” she said. “Ukrainians would not be willing to give up territory and they would potentially go against the government.
“And that’s not simply in a future referendum, that is also in the streets. On top of that, this is a population that is traumatised and also equipped with arms.
“So the potential to destabilise the country further, and the region, is great if something was seen to be imposed upon them.”
Maria Romanenko, 32, a journalist and activist, said she was “feeling let down, anxious and scared” by Trump’s statements but even more determined to keep arguing that Europe must step up its support.
As welcoming as she has found the UK, the seriousness of the situation isn’t always fully understood, as was summed up by the barista who told her they found Trump “funny” moments after she had spent the afternoon with displaced Ukrainian families, thousands of whom have attended the walking tours she holds to help them integrate into life in Manchester.
“It would be funny if you ignore the fact thousands of people are losing lives, losing limbs,” she said.
With such loss of life comes self-reproach. “You can just always feel it, the people who have left, they feel this guilt … like they can never be as good as people who have stayed,” Romanenko added.
“So there’s always that guilt. It doesn’t really end anywhere. Every Ukrainian will tell you. And if they can’t tell you that, that’s because they were killed and they can no longer speak. Everybody feels like they’re not doing enough.”
Natalia Ravlyuk, a trustee at British-Ukrainian Aid, described feeling “completely betrayed” by Trump’s remarks and position on Ukraine.
“It’s very frustrating to hear such nonsense – that we don’t have a right to defend ourselves. It’s a terror. It’s a genocide. Any agreement signed with Russia is a piece of toilet paper. When has Russia ever kept its promises? Ukraine is the frontline for Europe.”
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Petro Rewko, the chair of Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, said: “Even though we know what he’s like from previous experiences, we are still massively shocked how Trump has approached this and how he’s just railroading a peace agreement through at any cost, no matter what.
“Ukraine is the victim here. We do want a peace, we all want a peace, but not at any cost.”
The shock has also been felt across the Atlantic, said Onuch, who grew up in Canada.
“Large portions of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States who are American citizens, maybe for generations, did support the Republican party and Trump because they were expecting a harder stance,” she said.
“If Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, he goes further and he destabilises the rest of the European continent,” she added. “And that will come to the United Kingdom in one way or another.”
In a fast unfolding situation, however, the UK’s support has been a significant comfort to many Ukrainians.
“Others dallied and dithered slightly. Britain stood up; all parties and all politicians stood behind Ukraine and so did the people of the United Kingdom,” Rewko said. “We were forever grateful for that and we’re pleased to hear the positivity from the current prime minister and the government on their continued support and stance with Ukraine.”
